Chillin'Competition

I have just uploaded on ssrn (see here) a paper entitled ‘The Categorisation of Practices in EU Competition Law‘. It will be coming out in the forthcoming Liber Amicorum in Honour of Nils Wahl, jointly edited by Luca Prete and Leila Rezki.

As I explain, the definition of legal categories is one of the core functions that the EU courts are asked perform in the area of competition law (and, dare I add, in EU law at large). Wouter Wils explained a while ago that ‘all human thinking‘ involves the use of categories. It is therefore an illusion to think that the law can be administered without resorting to them. What matters, Wouter rightly added, is not whether categories exist, but whether those used are sound.

The paper explains the fundamental role of categories in a field, like EU competition law, that revolves around open-textured concepts such as ‘restriction of competition’ or ‘abuse’. It also discusses, second, the main approaches that might be followed to the characterisation of conduct. Finally, it provides an overview of the techniques that the Court of Justice has followed over the years to define and refine categories.

It would be great to get your thoughts on the piece. And keep an eye on the launch of the book!